यथेह पुत्रपौत्रादेः प्रीत्या प्रीतो भवेत्पिता तथा सर्वस्य संप्रीत्या प्रीतो भवति शंकरः
Just as a father is pleased by affection for his sons and grandsons here, so too is Śaṃkara pleased by the universal affection of all.
देहिनो यस्य कस्यापि क्रियते यदि निग्रहः अनिष्टमष्टमूर्तेस्तत्कृतमेव न संशयः
If harm is done to any embodied being, it is certainly done to the Eight-formed One; of this there is no doubt.
अष्टमूर्त्यात्मना विश्वमधिष्ठाय स्थितं शिवम् भजस्व सर्वभावेन रुद्रः परमकारणम्
Worship Śiva, who abides as the universe in the form of the Eight Manifestations, with all your being—Rudra, the supreme cause.
भगवन्परमेशस्य शर्वस्यामिततेजसः मूर्तिभिर्विश्वमेवेदं यथा व्याप्तं तथा श्रुतम्
O Lord, it is heard that this entire universe is pervaded by the forms of Parameśa, Śarva, of immeasurable brilliance.
अथैतज्ज्ञातुमिच्छामि याथात्म्यं पमेशयोः स्त्रीपुंभावात्मकं चेदं ताभ्यां कथमधिष्ठितम्
Now I wish to know the true nature of the Lord and the Lady—how this universe, consisting of male and female, is governed by them.
श्रीमद्विभूतिं शिवयोर्याथात्म्यं च समासतः वक्ष्ये तद्विस्तराद्वक्तुं भवेनापि न शक्यते
I will briefly declare the glorious powers and true nature of Śiva and Śivā; to explain it fully would not be possible, even for me.
शक्तिः साक्षान्महादेवी महादेवश्च शक्तिमान् तयोर्विभूतिलेशो वै सर्वमेतच्चराचरम्
Śakti is the great goddess herself, and Mahādeva is the possessor of power; all this, moving and unmoving, is but a fraction of their glory.
वस्तु किंचिदचिद्रूपं किंचिद्वस्तु चिदात्मकम् द्वयं शुद्धमशुद्धं च परं चापरमेव च
Some things are insentient in nature, some are conscious; both pure and impure, higher and lower, exist.
यत्संसरति चिच्चक्रमचिच्चक्रसमन्वितम् तदेवाशुद्धमपरमितरं तु परं शुभम्
That which moves within the circle of consciousness, joined with the circle of unconsciousness, is impure; but what is beyond is the supreme, auspicious.
अपरं च परं चैव द्वयं चिदचिदात्मकम् शिवस्य च शिवायाश्च स्वाम्यं चैतत्स्वभावतः
Both the lower and the higher consist of consciousness and unconsciousness; this is the inherent lordship of Śiva and Śivā.
शिवयोर्वै वशे विश्वं न विश्वस्य वशे शिवौ ईशितव्यमिदं यस्मात्तस्माद्विश्वेश्वरौ शिवौ
The universe is under the control of Śiva and Śivā, not they under the universe; since this is to be ruled, therefore Śiva and Śivā are the lords of the universe.
यथा शिवस्तथा देवी यथा देवी तथा शिवः नानयोरंतरं विद्याच्चंद्रचन्द्रिकयोरिव
As is Śiva, so is Devī; as is Devī, so is Śiva. One should know no difference between them, like that between the moon and its light.
चंद्रो न खलु भात्येष यथा चंद्रिकया विना न भाति विद्यमानो ऽपि तथा शक्त्या विना शिवः
Just as the moon does not shine without its light, though present, so too Śiva does not shine without Śakti.
प्रभया हि विनायद्वद्भानुरेष न विद्यते प्रभा च भानुना तेन सुतरां तदुपाश्रया
Indeed, without radiance, the sun does not exist; and radiance depends entirely on the sun.
एवं परस्परापेक्षा शक्तिशक्तिमतोः स्थिता न शिवेन विना शक्तिर्न शक्त्या च विना शिवः
In this way, the existence of power and the possessor of power is mutually dependent; without Śiva there is no Śakti, and without Śakti, no Śiva.
शक्तौयया शिवो नित्यं भक्तौ मुक्तौ च देहिनाम् आद्या सैका परा शक्तिश्चिन्मयी शिवसंश्रया
By this power, Śiva is always present in devotion and liberation for embodied beings; she alone is the supreme power, conscious, and dependent on Śiva.
यामाहुरखिलेशस्य तैस्तैरनुगुणैर्गुणैः समानधर्मिणीमेव शिवस्य परमात्मनः
She, whom they call the power of the Lord of all, is endowed with various qualities, yet shares the same nature as the supreme soul, Śiva.
सैका परा च चिद्रूपा शक्तिः प्रसवधर्मिणी विभज्य बहुधा विश्वं विदधाति शिवेच्छया
She alone is the supreme, conscious power, creative by nature; dividing the universe in many ways, she arranges it according to Śiva's will.
सा मूलप्रकृतिर्माया त्रिगुणा च त्रिधा स्मृता शिवया च विपर्यस्तं यया ततमिदं जगत्
That root-principle, Māyā, is remembered as threefold, possessing the three qualities; by her, even Shiva is veiled, and by her this entire universe is pervaded.
एकधा च द्विधा चैव तथा शतसहस्रधा शक्तयः खलु भिद्यंते बहुधा व्यवहारतः
The powers, indeed, are differentiated in one, two, and even a hundred thousand ways; they are manifoldly divided according to practical usage.
शिवेच्छया पराशक्तिः शिवतत्त्वैकतां गता ततः परिस्फुरत्यादौ सर्गे तैलं तिलादिव
By Shiva’s will, the supreme power, having attained unity with the principle of Shiva, then begins to manifest at the outset of creation, like oil from sesame seeds.
ततः क्रियाख्यया शक्त्या शक्तौ शक्तिमदुत्थया तस्यां विक्षोभ्यमाणायामादौ नादः समुद्बभौ
Then, by the power called Kriyā, arising from the empowered, when that power is stirred, at first sound (nāda) arose.
नादाद्विनिःसृतो बिंदुर्बिंदोदेवस्सदाशिवः तस्मान्महेश्वरो जातः शुद्धविद्या महेश्वरात्
From sound emerged the point (bindu); from the point, the god Sadāśiva; from him was born Maheśvara, and from Maheśvara, pure knowledge.
सा वाचामीश्वरी शक्तिर्वागीशाख्या हि शूलिनः या सा वर्णस्वरूपेण मातृकेपि विजृम्भते
That power of speech, called Vāgīśā, is the sovereign power of the trident-bearer; she expands among the mothers in the form of letters.
अथानंतसमावेशान्माया कालमवासृजत् नियतिञ्च कलां विद्यां कलातोरागपूरुषौ
Then, through infinite infusion, Māyā produced time, as well as destiny, limitation, knowledge, and from limitation, attachment and the person.
मायातः पुनरेवाभूदव्यक्तं त्रिगुणात्मकम् त्रिगुणाच्च ततो व्यक्ताद्विभक्ताः स्युस्त्रयो गुणाः
From Māyā again arose the unmanifest, composed of the three qualities; and from the threefold unmanifest, the three qualities, now distinct, came forth.
सत्त्वं रजस्तमश्चेति यैर्व्याप्तमखिलं जगत् गुणेभ्यः क्षोभ्यमाणेभ्यो गुणेशाख्यास्त्रिमूर्तयः
Sattva, rajas, and tamas—by these the entire universe is pervaded; from the agitated qualities arose the three forms known as the lords of the qualities.
अभवन्महदादीनि तत्त्वानि च यथाक्रमम् तेभ्यस्स्युरण्डपिण्डानि त्वसंख्यानि शिवाज्ञया अधिष्ठितान्यनन्ताद्यैर्विद्येशैश्चक्रवर्तिभिः
From them, the principles beginning with Mahat came forth in due order; from these, countless cosmic eggs, established by Shiva’s command and presided over by the infinite lords of knowledge.
शरीरांतरभेदेन शक्तेर्भेदाः प्रकीर्तिताः नानारूपास्तु विज्ञेयाः स्थूलसूक्ष्मविभेदतः
The divisions of power are described according to the differences among bodies; they should be understood as of various forms, distinguished as gross and subtle.
रुद्रस्य रौद्री सा शक्तिर्विष्णौर्वै वैष्णवी मता ब्रह्माणी ब्रह्मणः प्रोक्ता चेन्द्रस्यैंद्रीति कथ्यते
The fierce power of Rudra is called Raudrī; for Viṣṇu, it is known as Vaiṣṇavī; for Brahmā, it is called Brahmāṇī; and for Indra, it is spoken of as Aindrī.